Murtoli fraud enquiry: Police investigate owner of Corsica retreat used by Sarkozy and others

Paul Canarelli has come to the attention of France's fraud agency, Tracfin, over alleged 'suspicious movements of funds'

At Murtoli, a sprawling estate on the Corsican coast, holidaymakers including Nicolas Sarkozy can spend up to €34,000 (£17,000) a week escaping the hustle and bustle of daily life.

Former President Sarkozy, who was staying at the hotel last week, might have been surprised to find that its owner was being investigated for an alleged fraud. The Journal du Dimanche (Le JDD) has revealed that the former nightclub owner and “shepherd-hotelier” Paul Canarelli has come to the attention of France’s fraud agency, Tracfin, over alleged “suspicious movements of funds”.

Tracfin, it is claimed, suspects a Belgium-based French national sent €3m via Luxembourg to accounts linked to Mr Canarelli. The paper also revealed another potential legal headache for Mr Canarelli, with sources saying a Paris judge has launched an investigation into “trespassing, attempted extortion, theft and malicious damage”.

The allegations were brought by Anne de Carbuccia, a former model whose legal spat with Mr Canarelli over ownership of a 17th-century tower in the south of Murtoli’s grounds has spanned a decade. Neither his nor her lawyers were available for comment.